Zombie Truckers - Part 2 - You Are What You Eat
I have a friend of mine who is a leading cardiologist. He is in his late 60’s and has no plan to retire. He lives and practices in a southern state and makes a nice seven figure annual salary with multiple homes and a private plane. In other words, he is doing very well professionally. I asked him recently if he was planning ion retiring. “Hell no he said. I’m in a growth industry”. “America is getting fatter and more obese and no matter what I tell my patients they end up in the operating room”.
Brown Dog Carriers has launching a series of blogs that will discuss driver health and strategies for improvement. We are partnering with Robert E. Cyr, DOS, CHHC, AADP, FSP a former truck driver who penned the book “Zombie Truckers” To order Bob’s book click on the following link.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1682132196/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
The sad fact is that nearly 70% of American adults are obese or overweight.
My mom used to tell me “you are what you eat”. If you eat your fruits and vegetables, you will be healthy. If you “pig out” on chips and soda you will be unhealthy.
The fact is, if you eat fatty foods then guess what… If you eat a healthy balanced diet, then … you know.
Obviously, other factors play into this, like exercise, genetics and sleep but food intake is the leading factor in obesity.
If we were to randomly sample a truck drivers’ intake of foods and drink in a day here are some of the unhealthy ones we would find. How many have you consumed in the last week.
Soda – added sugar can lead to insulin resistance and non-alcohol fatty liver disease. Sugar laced drinks is a leading cause of obesity in children and adults
Diet Soda – They contain the same active ingredient that is found in flame retardants. Aspartame is also linked to raised glucose levels and cause the liver to overload and create fat. Not really a diet drink after all.
Energy drinks – these are overpriced chemical cocktails that are 10% more corrosive to your teeth than soda and over time can create severe liver problems.
Potato chips – most potato chips contain carcinogenic substances from the cooking process and because they are so damn tasty, we can’t eat just one. You know what I mean. A leading contributor to weight gain.
Candy bars – these goodie are high in sugar giving you an energy buzz. Unfortunately, they are high in sugar (I’m repeating myself), refined wheat and processed fats and have very little nutrients. High risk and low reward food.
Pizza – most have highly refined dough and processed meats. Neither of which are good for you and add a ton of calories
Fried food – anything fried is generally unhealthy as there are chemical alterations to the food from the frying process (not to mention the added calories from the oil/grease). Frying causes chemical compounds (too many to list here) to be created that will increase your risk of heart disease and cancer.
White bread – these are usually made from refined wheat which is low in fiber and essential nutrients and can lead to spikes in blood sugar levels.
Packaged pastries – I never met a driver who didn’t love a Little Debbie. What’s not to like. The chocolate flavor and the no expiration date. There are more chemicals and preservatives in one Ring Ding than in most toxic labs.
Ice Cream – it’s 95 in the shade and you just unloaded a truck. What better than an ice cream to reward your work and cool you down? Unfortunately, it’s loaded with sugar and the serving size is always too big.
For more examples check out this
https://www.eatthis.com/unhealthiest-foods-on-the-planet/
Your body has a manufacturing plant of cells that works to replace and renew dead cells. An average adult loses around 300 billion cells every day, and this “cell manufacturing plant” is fueled by the food that you eat.
If you feed it bad fuel (aka junk food) It will produce unhealthy or weak cells because of the nature and poor nutrition of your diet.
You can’t eat nutrition less food and expect your body’s “cell manufacturing plant” to run efficiently and produce at its best.
In a latter installment we will offer an alternative to all these items. I am not talking about a diet of water and nuts. Lots of healthy and tasty alternatives.
Next installment – Life Is Short but Doesn’t Have To Be